By Neha Yadav
India is a country rich in culture, heritage and most prominently, it is diverse in sacraments and beliefs. In urban India, with the practice of free speech and expression on social media, the whole canvass of gender has changed. With increasing awareness and comprehensive understanding, India has emerged as a growing prospect concerning gender and sexuality.
As more and more people step up to voice their concerns regarding gender neutrality and equality, LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer+) has come a long way paving through the roadmap to pride in India. LGBT has notched up its activism quotient today with the youth of India extensively participating in spreading awareness on the alarming need to recognize LGBTQ+ members in every firmament.
In a very first progressive move, the Karnataka State Police (KSP) earlier invited applications transgenders for the post of special reserve sub-inspector in KSRP and Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB). In a similar instance, V Sivankutty, the education minister of Kerala, assured a teaching job to a transgender teacher when no schools were giving her jobs due to her gender.
Last year, a Chennai court-ordered state and federal officials to chalk out plans for sweeping reforms to respect LGBT rights considering the perpetuating issue of illegal discrimination against members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Among his recommendations, the judge urged the police and government officials to be given awareness training to ensure dignity and respect for LGBT rights. Medical practitioners who claim to ‘cure’ homosexuality were advised to have their licenses revoked.
The Karnataka government, last year notified 1% reservation for transgender persons in any post in all employment levels through the direct recruitment process. Interestingly, a few years back another transgender, Aishwarya Rutuparna Pradhan, a former student of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) set an example of breaking the stigmas by becoming the very first transgender civil servant.
Similarly, Jyoti Mondal became the first transgender judge while closely working for transgender rights organizations. In a recent novel initiative of marginal LGBT inclusivity and skill development, IIM Bangalore published an article last month appreciating the Rajkot district administration of Gujarat to provide livelihoods to the members of the LGBT community. Rajkot has been one of the 30 districts in India chosen by the central government for ironing out the national skill development plan.
Simultaneously, job fairs like (Reimagining Inclusion for Social Equity) RISE, Vividh, and Qrious exclusively focus on recruiting members of the LGBTQI community. With various companies pitching in, the job fairs are specifically aimed to enhance workplace diversity for candidates of every gender, sexuality, age, and ability.
LGBT pride parades and meet-ups have all contributed enormously to painting the rainbow of pride that India is striving towards. In some areas, a host of issues like honor killings, mob lynching, or instances of disowning taint the colorful picture of modern India we live in. However, there have also been brighter aspects of the nation that is gradually welcoming the LGBTQIA+ to claim what they truly deserve.
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